The Heart of Chao
by EchidnaPower
Summary: Chao are adorable little creatures, and they make great pets for anyone who's looking for something to take care of. But there's more to chao than just being cute, they're filled with more heart and love than anyone can imagine, and that can sometimes lead to bringing others closer together. Here are just a few stories of that very thing happening to our favorite characters.
1. Speedy

**Here's another requested fic, this one had the prompt of "pets," and so that can only mean one thing...chao shenanigans! I hope you all enjoy this story. Without further ado, here we go! I own nothing except the story.  
** _

There were a lot of things that the general public didn't know about Sonic the Hedgehog. While he wasn't exactly what you would call shy, there were certain things the blue hero preferred to keep to himself. Those few things he liked to keep under wraps, he fought to do so with his life in most cases, lest anyone use that information against him in the future. Underneath the "too cool" exterior was a hero weighed down by a lot of burdens and responsibilities. Granted, they were self-inflicted, but they were burdens and responsibilities nonetheless.

That was why he ran all the time, to relax and briefly remove that weight from his shoulders. Having the wind run through his quills and the comforting silence that came from breaking the sound barrier was a sensation that was more therapeutic to him than anything else in the world.

And Amy Rose knew this.

She knew more about Sonic than anyone else in the world, even his best friend and adopted little brother Tails wasn't able to read him as well as she did. Of course, whenever she said stuff like that, her friends would just roll their eyes and humor her ramblings, even Cream didn't really seem to believe her when she talked about how well she knew the inner workings of Sonic the Hedgehog.

But she didn't mind, she knew the truth, and in the end, that was all that mattered.

The desire to know more about him, to get closer to him, that was all part of being in love. Maybe her methods weren't all that effective, chasing him around wherever he went and glomping him at every opportunity...but hey, she had to get her hugs in somehow.

Today however, Amy planned to use a different approach. For the past several weeks, Amy Rose had noticed a change in Sonic's everyday demeanor, one that was so slight, that not even Tails had picked it up...but she had. Sonic seemed a bit more flighty, like he was in a rush to get to places, more of a rush than usual that is. Oh he'd still hang out, make jokes, do all those Sonic-y things that made him Sonic...but after a certain amount of time, he would start to grow anxious, and then he'd promptly excuse himself in a very Sonic-like manner, and in a flash, he would be gone.

This mystery would not go unsolved.

Amy knew that just asking him what was going on would make Sonic uncomfortable, the blue hero had this shield of cockiness and attitude that gave him the ability to simply brush off questions he didn't feel like answering. His charisma, his laid back way of life, it was enough to make anyone else just laugh off any concerns, and they'd go back to the way they were before.

But not her, Amy knew better.

So the first step would be to get Sonic to lower his shield, and the best way to do that was to go through his stomach. That meant chili dogs. Sonic didn't often stop for things, especially if they came from her...but there was one thing she knew beyond the shadow of a doubt would get his attention, and that was a hot plate full of hotdogs slathered in chili from her own signature recipe. She'd spent weeks mastering the recipe over the years, and she knew she had a winner when Sonic not only finished the plate she gave him, but actually asked - or rather begged - for more.

The pink hedgehog spent all morning whipping up a batch of her signature chili dogs, and after wrapping the plate in some aluminum foil to keep them warm, she started the short walk to Sonic's apartment in Station Square.

That was yet another thing she knew about Sonic that no one else did: the blue hedgehog actually did have a place to call home. Most people assumed that he just lived with Tails, considering that was where you could usually find him when he wasn't running around the world somewhere. But Amy knew he had an apartment, she'd seen him going in and out of a large apartment complex on occasion, and she was the only one who ever thought anything of it.

When Sonic found out she knew, he'd sworn her to silence.

"What a bunch of nonsense, like Eggman doesn't _already_ attack the city on a regular basis." Amy shook her head in remembrance of the confrontation she'd had with him. Oh, she agreed to keep it quiet, but she'd also made sure to let him know he was being ridiculous. Hiding the fact he had an apartment, a little place to call home, wouldn't have caused any trouble for anyone. "If anything, it's his _reputation_ he's worried about, God forbid someone find out that Sonic the Hedgehog actually sleeps in a bed instead of on tree limbs and rooftops."

Finally she reached Sonic's apartment, a rundown little place on the third floor with the number 'six' hanging upside-down and making it look like a 'nine.' The pink hedgehog scoffed and rolled her eyes at the sight. "He _still_ hasn't fixed the door." she knocked on the door and waited for Sonic to answer, but after about a minute or so, the door had remained closed. "That's weird...he's usually home at this time." Out of curiosity, she turned the door knob, and gasped when she found the door had been left unlocked. "That's weirder..."

Slowly making her way into the apartment, she took note of the fact that a couple of lights were on, indicating that someone had been there recently at the very least. "Sonic?" She received no answer. Placing the chili dogs on the countertop, she summoned her hammer and silently stalked her way through the rooms of the apartment. The bathroom was...dirty, and the closets were unorganized and messy. Had this been anyone else's place, she would've assumed the place had been burglarized...but this was Sonic.

"Like he's gonna bother cleaning up. Ugh." She lowered her hammer and scoffed. "He must've just taken off somewhere and forgot to lock his door." Then her fur began to stand on end, as a faint noise reached her ears. "On second thought, maybe I'm not alone after all."

Amy sneaked over to the source of the noise, and as she drew closer to the closed door of Sonic's bedroom, the noise grew slightly louder, until she pressed her ear against the door and was able to get a clearer idea of what she was hearing. "Someone's rummaging through his stuff!" Lifting her hammer up over her head, the pink hedgehog steeled herself and prepared to confront whatever burglar dared to try and steal from her beloved Sonic.

With a battle cry, she charged through the door and started swinging on instinct, then stopped as she caught her breath and looked around the room. "Huh? There's...there's no one here." Her eyes slowly scanned the room, and in her peripheral vision she caught movement in Sonic's closet. "Ah ha!" She leaped in front of the door and raised her hammer up over her head to attack...and then she slowly lowered it, as she stared in shock at the figure she had been about to beat up on.

A little chao, cowering in fear as it stared up at her.

"A chao?" she made her hammer vanish, and she knelt down in front of the tiny creature and held her hands out to it. "Hey there little guy, what are _you_ doing here?" the chao shuddered in fear, and Amy gently took hold of it. "Hey, easy," she said as the chao struggled to get free. "I'm sorry I scared you, I didn't know you were here."

"Chao?"

"Yeah," she smiled down at it as it stopped fighting to get free. "I'm not gonna hurt you, it was only a mistake. I'm Amy, Amy Rose."

"Chao?" the chao's eyes widened, and then it smiled as it turned around and embraced the pink hedgehog with its little emotion ball shaped like a heart. "Chao chao chao!"

"Well, that's quite a mood swing there," she raised the chao up and nuzzled its face with her nose. "Aren't you just the cutest little thing? What are you doing here in Sonic's apartment...unless..." Amy suppressed a laugh. "No way...do you _belong_ to _Sonic?"_

"Hey Speedy! I'm back little buddy!" Hearing the voice coming from the kitchen confirmed Amy's suspicions, but then a chill went up her spine at the next thing she heard. "What smells so good?"

"Uh oh."

"Wait a second...chili dogs? And they smell like..." the next thing Amy knew, there was a gust of wind and in the doorway stood Sonic, eyes wide as dinner plates as they locked onto her and the little chao who was happily snuggling into her chest. "Amy?!"

"Uh...hi Sonic." Suddenly the chao squealed and escaped Amy's grip, and it began flying around Sonic's head in happiness, finally settling down on the blue hedgehog's head, a content smile on its face. "So...does it belong to you?"

Sonic narrowed his eyes at the girl and scowled. "What are you doing here Amy?"

Amy stood up and lowered her head, scuffing the floor with the sole of her boot and her hands held behind her back. "I wanted to come and visit, I even brought chili dogs!" she tried to smile when she mentioned his favorite food, but the scowl never left his face. "I'm sorry Sonic, I didn't mean to just barge in, I saw the door was open and I thought you just didn't hear me, and then I heard noises coming from your bedroom and I thought maybe someone was trying to rob you, so I went charging in and I scared the living daylights out of this cute little guy, and then I-"

"Chao!"

Amy stopped her babbling when the little chao frowned at her and flew off Sonic's head to go back to her, rubbing its face against hers in an apparent show of comfort. "Aww, aren't you the sweetest?"

"Chao."

Sonic watched in awe as the little chao snuggled back up to the pink hedgehog, relinquishing a chuckle as he shook his head in amusement. "Well whaddya know? Speedy's taken a liking to ya."

"Speedy? Is that his name?"

"That a problem?"

"Of _course_ not!" Amy smiled. "I think it's a _perfect_ name for the pet of the fastest thing alive!"

"Chao chao!"

"Yeah, well, I'm glad you approve." Sonic turned around and headed back to his kitchen, and Amy followed him with Speedy still nestled in her arms. "Look Ames," Sonic took a seat at the kitchen counter and eyeballed the plate of chili dogs before finally deciding to start biting into one. "I don't need the fact that I have a chao gettin' out, it wouldn't exactly look good for my rep."

"Oh come on Sonic, it wouldn't be bad for your reputation, it's not like you're the _only_ one who has a pet, _lots_ of people do!" Amy raised the chao up and nuzzled his face with her nose. "And this little guy is just _soooo_ adorable, how can you _not_ wanna show him off?"

"Chao!"

Sonic sighed and shook his head. "It's not that simple Ames, it's like I told you before, if Eggman or any of our other enemies-"

"Oh no you don't! Don't _even_ try to pull that excuse with _me_ Sonic the Hedgehog! If you were _really_ worried about Speedy's safety, you never would've gotten him!" She was momentarily distracted when the little chao flew out of her arms and over to a paper bag that apparently had him very excited. "Although that _does_ explain why you keep taking off early nowadays, you're probably coming back here to feed him and take care of him."

"If that's what you wanna believe." Sonic shrugged and started chomping on another chili dog.

"It's what I'll go with until you give me a better explanation." Amy went over and took a seat next to the blue hedgehog, watching him for a moment as he ate from the plate she'd brought with her. "So, what made you decide to get him in the first place?" When Sonic stopped eating and glanced at her with his eyes, she scoffed and rolled her own eyes. _"Whatever_ the reason is, I swear I will take it to the grave, God forbid anyone should ever find out that Sonic the Hedgehog actually has a more tender side to him."

Sonic swallowed his mouthful of food and wiped his mouth with his arm, exhaling through his nose before he finally cast his eyes upon the little chao who was digging through the contents of the paper bag he'd brought. "Look, I just..." he sighed. "I thought it might be cool to own one, I see how much fun Cream and Cheese have together all the time, and I thought hey, why not?" Sonic got up and grabbed the paper bag with Speedy still in it, and he pulled him out and placed him in his lap, even as the chao shook a small toy microphone around. "So I went to the chao garden in the Station Square Hotel and I decided to bring an egg home. The rest is history."

"Well if you ask me, I think that's really sweet of you. Do you know how many chao have to grow up without anyone to take care of them? Cream tells me all the time that she wishes she could take more chao home, but Vanilla doesn't want anymore since Cheese is already there full-time and every once in a while one of Cream's younger friends will bring Chocola to her house for her to take care of him." Amy placed a hand on the blue hedgehog's arm and smiled. "Don't you see Sonic? You did it again, you're a hero! Only instead of saving _everyone's_ life, you saved just _one_...and that one matters just as much as if you saved the whole world."

The blue hedgehog chuckled a little. "I guess you _could_ put it that way."

"There's just one thing I still don't get Sonic."

"What's that?"

Amy smirked. "When I told Speedy who I was, he practically jumped for joy and hugged me like I was his mama, how does he know who I am?"

Sonic's cheeks were suddenly turning red, and he coughed into his fist as he refused to look the pink hedgehog in the eye. "Well, ya got me there Ames, I mean I told him about you guys, but I dunno why he thinks _you're_ so special."

"Real smooth Sonic," Amy leaned in closer, and Sonic leaned back as a result. "What aren't you telling me?" Silence. "Ok, _new_ question...what did you tell Speedy about me?"

Still refusing to look at her, Sonic frowned. "I told 'im that you're a nosy brat who doesn't know how to mind her own business."

"Hey!"

"Chao chao chao!" Amy looked down at Speedy and saw that the chao was glaring in disapproval at Sonic. "Chao chao chao, chao chao!"

"You're supposed to be on _my_ side," Sonic sighed even as his cheeks grew warmer. "I also told 'im how...how special you are to me...and that there's no one I would trust him with more than you, not even Cream."

"Oh Sonic," she swooned. "Do you mean that?"

Sonic groaned and scratched the back of his neck. "You're making this tougher than it needs to be Ames..." he finally looked her in the eye and nodded an affirmative. "Yeah, I meant it. I guess he got the impression that...you're his mom, since I'm supposed to be like his dad or whatever."

Amy blushed and smiled tenderly at the blue hedgehog before she took Speedy into her arms and rubbed his head, making him close his eyes and sigh in contentment under her loving touch. "Well, I think I can fulfill that role, if you want me to that is."

Seeing how happy his pet was with the young girl, Sonic couldn't help but smile as he felt his heart swell in a way he never could've expected...watching Amy interact with Speedy, she looked just like a loving mother...and for some reason, that mental image made his heart beat faster in a way that wasn't entirely unwelcome...in fact, it felt nice in a way. "Sure Ames, I guess we can raise this little guy together, he already really likes you, so I can't really come up with a good reason not to."

"Thanks Sonic, I promise I'll do a good job with him."

"Knowing you Ames, he'll probably be the happiest chao alive."

As the two looked at each other in comfortable silence, they were given a real treat when Speedy began to sing while still in Amy's arms. "Oh he's singing! That's so sweet!" she looked up with jade-green eyes sparkling with happiness. "Come over here Sonic." It took a moment for Sonic to react, but eventually he did give in and went over to them, wrapping one arm around her shoulder as they both watched and listened to the little chao sing in his own language. "Isn't this adorable?"

"Yeah, sure is."

Of all the things she expected to find, a tiny blue creature living with Sonic was not one of them, but now with Speedy sitting comfortably in her lap and Sonic by her side, Amy Rose felt that there was no way she could be happier...until Sonic leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. She blushed profusely and turned her head to look at him, and she could immediately tell that his face was just as hot as hers was. "S-Sonic..."

"S-Sorry Ames..." he rubbed his neck. "I dunno why I did that...it just kinda...felt like the right thing to do, know what I mean?"

She graced the blue hedgehog with a loving smile, and captured his lips with her own before he would have a chance to react. After a few moments, she felt Sonic start to give in, and even return the affectionate gesture in his own awkward way. A few more moments later, she broke the kiss, and smiled at him with her eyes half-lidded. "Yeah, I know exactly what you mean."

"Chao chao."

Then they looked down and saw that Speedy was looking at them both with a big smile, the little ball floating above his head now shaped like a heart. Amy looked back up at Sonic and smiled at him, and her heart swelled when she saw Sonic giving her a very similar expression. "And I think Speedy does too."  
_

 **A/N: So what'd you think? I had a lot of fun with this one, I always loved the chao gardens and I really think SEGA could make a spinoff game focused around just taking care of chao. If Nintendo can make a killing off of stuff like Nintendogs, then SEGA can create a chao garden game. They have the technology, so just freaking do it!**

 **So this story isn't over yet, there's another "story" coming with the same prompt, so I've decided to just create a second chapter with even more chao shenanigans and other characters. So stay tuned folks! Leave a review!**


	2. Sacniete

**Time for the long awaited(?) continuation of this story, this chapter featuring the rare pairing of Knuckles and Tikal. So how will chao come into play this time? You'll have to read to find out. I own nothing except the story.  
** _

Sudden change can be a very jarring experience to anyone who's spent a majority of their lives living in a fairly normal routine. For Knuckles the Echidna, that routine was a simple one: guard the Master Emerald, as was his sworn duty. Day and night, he would spend his time sitting in front of the large gem, its power unmatched throughout the known universe. Any type of distraction could potentially be the end of all of creation, should the emerald ever fall into the wrong hands.

But as of late, Knuckles found himself extremely distracted.

It was all too easy to be distracted when there was a beautiful echidna girl sitting next to you. Thanks to nothing short of a miracle courtesy of the Master Emerald, the only other echidna left in existence - to his knowledge - had been gifted with a true physical form once again. Tikal, the only known survivor of the bloodline of Pachacamac, who had been the leader of the Knuckles tribe over 4,000 years ago. Tikal, the one responsible for originally sealing the creature known as Chaos and potentially saving the entire world all those years ago.

Tikal, the very attractive echidna female whom he had quickly fallen in love with.

There was just something about her gentle and caring nature that the emerald guardian found endearing, even the smallest of smiles was enough to make his heart go aflutter, and as a result, he often found himself stuttering like an awkward boy who had just come to the stunning revelation that girls actually didn't have cooties.

Fortunately for him, Tikal didn't seem to mind, she would just giggle and continue on as if he hadn't just made a fool of himself. That in itself was incredibly refreshing, as most of his friends would surely make a snarky comment to tease him a little, not that he thought they were being malicious...except for Rouge, she was a lot of the time.

But Tikal was different. There truly wasn't a mean-spirited bone in her body, her spirit form seemed incredibly fitting for her, as her demeanor likened her to an angel sent from above. Although that didn't mean Tikal was without her own set of burdens, she was often confused as to the way things worked in the modern world due to her being about 4,000 years behind technologically speaking. Tails' devices never failed to impress her, Amy would often take her shopping to get her acclimated to the way modern society works (and also to give her a new wardrobe), and she would always return to the island happy as could be.

Up until very recently that is.

Knuckles had no idea what had caused it, but after her most recent trip with Amy into Station Square, Tikal had returned with a couple of bags of clothes that Amy had bought for her, but with the normally radiant sparkle in her eyes missing.

The next few days afterwards, Tikal had foregone wearing the new clothes she'd gotten and actually switched back to her native tribal outfit, staring up into the sky with a thoughtful and somewhat sorrowful expression, and occasionally taking time to stare blankly at the Master Emerald for several minutes at a time before going back to staring up at the sky.

It was extremely unsettling.

And so it was that the emerald guardian found himself in front of the home of none other than Amy Rose, if anyone had answers regarding why Tikal had suddenly become depressed, it was her, and Knuckles had mentally promised himself that he wouldn't leave without answers. "Amy! Open up!"

Moments later the door that was getting brutally banged on opened, and a very irate looking pink hedgehog stuck her head out and glared at her now very unwelcome visit. "There better be a good reason for you nearly knocking down my door!"

"Sorry," Knuckles huffed and crossed his arms before turning back towards Amy with a frustrated expression. "I need answers, and I have a feeling that you can give 'em to me."

Amy opened the door all the way and put her hands on her hips. "Depends on what you need answers for."

"How come the last time Tikal came back to the island after spending the day with you, she was all depressed?"

The pink hedgehog's eyes widened at this. "She was depressed?"

Knuckles nodded his head solemnly. "She's barely said a word these past few days, she just keeps staring off into space, and that's not ok with me. I need to know what happened so I can fix it."

"Aww," Amy giggled when she saw Knuckles blush and turn his head away in frustration. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you, but I think it's sweet that you want to help Tikal feel better." she gestured for him to enter, and she watched the guardian walk past her with his scowl still firmly in place. "Take a seat and get comfy if you want, I have to take care of something in the kitchen real quick and then we can see if we can't figure out what's wrong."

"Whatever." Knuckles watched her disappear into her kitchen, and he uncrossed his arms and rested his face in his oversized palm and sighed. "What am I doing here? This is a total waste of time."

"Chao?"

Hearing the tiny sounding voice, Knuckles removed his hand from his face and saw a little chao looking up at him with a sad expression. "Oh, it's you." Knuckles sat back up and turned his head towards the kitchen. "Sonic's gone _again?"_ he called out.

Amy suddenly rushed back in and she spotted none other than Sonic's chao Speedy looking at Knuckles with a very sympathetic looking frown. "Oh, yeah, Sonic dropped Speedy off a few days ago. He said he wanted to take a run around the planet for a few days, called it a leisurely stroll." she scoffed and shook her head in amusement. "Only Sonic would call a trip around the whole planet something like that."

"Yeah well," Knuckles glanced at the little chao through his peripheral vision. "He's giving me a weird look, so can you please get him outta here?"

"Oh fine," Amy rolled her eyes and went over to scoop Speedy into her arms. "Ok you, let's get you upstairs where you won't bother Knuckles with your existence." she said as sarcastically as possible. But then her eyes widened and she stopped in her tracks. "Wait a second..."

"What?"

"I think I just realized why Tikal is so upset."

"Really?!"

Amy nodded. "I think it's because of Speedy."

"What?" Knuckles glared at the chao. "What did he do to her?"

"Relax knucklehead!" she glared at him, only glaring harder when he returned the expression. "I said it was _because_ of Speedy, I didn't say it was Speedy's _fault."_

"What's the difference?"

"There's a _big_ difference." Amy sat down on a chair and put the chao down, and as soon as he was free, he flew over to Knuckles and sat down next to him, again giving him that sympathetic expression. "I took Speedy with me the last time I went out shopping with Tikal, and now that I think about it, she seemed very interested in him from the very moment she saw him."

"Guess that makes sense, Tikal made friends with all the chao that lived near the Master Emerald shrine all those years ago." Then Knuckles' eyes widened. "Oh wait, are you saying that-"

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Amy nodded. "Tikal is probably sad that her chao friends are all gone. I mean, now all that's left of the world she knew are the ruins of the shrine and the Master Emerald itself...but what she _really_ loved were all the chao that lived there, with Chaos as their guardian no less."

Knuckles breathed out through his nose before looking at Amy with a determined expression. "I'm open to any advice you have."

Amy smiled softly and stood up to scoop Speedy back into her arms, the little chao smiling contentedly as he snuggled up to her. "I've learned a lot about chao these past few weeks, they're creatures filled with love and can make even the darkest day seem at least a little bit brighter." she blushed a bit. "Speedy's also the reason Sonic and I have gotten so close lately, raising him together has been an incredible experience and I was _so_ happy when Sonic finally gave in and let Speedy spend a day playing with Cheese at Cream's house, it was just so cute seeing them interact and have fun-"

"Amy."

The pink hedgehog blinked and blushed in embarrassment as she realized she'd been rambling. "Sorry Knuckles."

"Yeah, you were saying?"

"Right...what I mean is, maybe Tikal would appreciate if she had a chao of her own to take care of." she suddenly grinned mischievously. "Who knows? Maybe it'll bring you and her closer together like Speedy did for me and Sonic."

Knuckles huffed and turned his head away with a grunt. "That's none of your business."

"I'm right though, you want that."

"I didn't come here for you to tease me!" Knuckles stood up and pointed an accusing finger at the petite hedgehog. "I came here so you could give me answers and advice!"

"And I just did!" the smile never left her face. "Go down to the Station Square chao garden and get an egg, they always have quite a few to choose from!" she bounced Speedy in her arms, prompting the little chao to squeak happily. "You watch, as soon as Tikal sees that you got her a chao, her eyes will light up like the Fourth of July!"

After a few moments of silent glaring, the echidna's muscles relaxed and a small smirk formed on his lips. "Guess I know where I'm going next, thanks for the help Amy."

"Not a problem. I just have one question."

"What's that?"

She smirked. "When do I get my invitation for the wedding?"

It took every ounce of self-control in the guardian's body to not slam Amy's door as he walked out.

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There were just some places where you wouldn't expect to see Knuckles the Echidna hanging out. One of those very places was a chao garden filled with chao that were happily singing, playing games and essentially just being cute. Though he knew in his mind that there was really no reason to be embarrassed, he still couldn't shake the anxiety that came with hoping no one he knew happened to walk in and see him approaching the young clerk at the front desk.

"Hi! Can I help you?"

Knuckles jumped a bit when the perky young cat girl addressed him, and he cleared his throat to try and regain his composure. "Yeah, see I have this friend, and she's been feeling pretty depressed lately, so I figured that adopting a chao would be the perfect way to make her feel better. It's for _her,_ not _me..._ so, where are all the eggs? _"_

The sky blue feline smirked and regarded Knuckles with a knowing expression. "Of course sir, I understand. Follow me!" she motioned for him to follow, and as they walked into the back of the chao garden, Knuckles looked around to see all of the different chao items laying on shelves, feeling distinctly uncomfortable around all of the colorful merchandise. "Here we are!" they stopped in front of a sliding door, and the cat led Knuckles inside and gestured towards the many different eggs all laying under what appeared to be a large sun lamp. "These are all the eggs we have available for adoption, we've recently had to take greater steps to take care of these eggs since the main garden has so many chao in it."

"Fascinating." Knuckles rolled his eyes and walked past the feline, carefully regarding each of the eggs as he pondered which choice to make. _"All these eggs look exactly the same."_ Then his eyes caught something he wasn't expecting. In the back corner, there was an egg that actually looked different than the others, and he instantly made his way over there to look it over. "What's the story on this one?"

The clerk walked over and smiled at the red echidna. "That sir, is a rare egg that was made just a few days ago. It isn't every day that a purely white egg makes an appearance, so you're lucky to be interested in it."

Knuckles raised a suspicious eyebrow. "If it's so rare, why hasn't anyone else jumped at the chance to have it?"

"Oh they have," the clerk confirmed with a nod. "But you see, rare eggs require just the right person to take care of them, someone who we know for sure will treat them like the special creatures they are. Naturally, we at the chao garden hope that all our chao will be treated as special, but with rare eggs like these," she cocked her head for a moment. "They really _are_ special."

Hearing this, Knuckles regarded the white egg with an intense gaze for about a minute or so. If this was a special egg, then there was no doubt in his mind that it needed a special caretaker...and there was no one more qualified...or special than Tikal. "I promise you, this chao will be well taken care of."

The cat nodded again, a soft smile on her lips. "I know it will, I can tell you'll take extra special care of it. I can see it in your eyes."

"No, you don't understand, it's not meant for me, it's-"

"For your friend, yes of course." the cat turned her back on him and rolled her eyes with a smirk as she began to walk out. "I hope she loves it as much as that chao will love her."

"W-Wait! What about the egg?!"

The clerk looked over her shoulder and grinned. "It's your friend's egg now, you're gonna have to take it to her, so you might as well get used to holding it now."

"I don't know anything about chao eggs! How am I supposed to hold this thing?! What if I break it?!"

The cat girl turned around and put her hands on her hips. "Ok, do you have anything that you consider special? Something that you feel needs to be protected?"

"Of course I do!" Knuckles raised a fist. "The Master Emerald is the most powerful artifact in all of existence, and as its guardian, it's my sworn duty to protect it with my very life, and make sure no harm ever comes to it!"

"Good!" the cat exclaimed. "Then you take that egg, and you hold it like you were holding your master emerald, protect it with your life!" the cat turned on her heel and walked out, smirking to herself as she left her newest client alone in the room with a shocked expression on his face. "They always need a little coaxing, I haven't seen someone that nervous since Sonic the Hedgehog himself came here.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As he made his way back to Angel Island, Knuckles' eyes darted back and forth as he kept a sharp look out for any danger that might threaten his current cargo. Nestled safely in his strong arms was the white chao egg he'd received from the Station Square chao garden, and he would die before letting any harm come to it, just like the Master Emerald. Once he finally reached his island, he took a moment to wipe his brow of sweat and glance down at the egg he was holding.

His heart briefly stopped when he saw a crack in the egg.

"Oh no, no no no no no no no!" He turned the egg over as delicately as he could to look at the crack...and that was when another one suddenly appeared. "What the?!" Now the cracks were audible and were becoming more frequent. "What'd I do wrong?! This can't happen!" Knuckles desperately tried to piece the cracks together, but it got to the point where it was no use as the cracks had appeared all over the egg. "I blew it." Dropping down to his knees, Knuckles let the egg roll out of his arms, and he started slamming his fists into the grass below him with his eyes shut tight in frustration. With each blow, the divots in the grass became deeper as his impressive strength displaced dirt and sod. "After all that, _now_ what am I gonna do?"

"Chao?"

That sound caused Knuckles' head to suddenly shoot up, and his eyes nearly bugged out of his head when he saw a little white chao shaking off what appeared to be the remains of eggshell off its body. "It...hatched?"

Hearing the voice, the chao glanced up at Knuckles with wide and curious eyes. "Chao?"

"Uh...hi?" Knuckles waved awkwardly.

"Chao?" suddenly a big smile appeared on the chao's face, and it crawled over to Knuckles and nuzzled its face against his arm in obvious affection. "Chao chao..."

"No wait, this isn't right!" the guardian exclaimed even as he pulled his arm away, much to the chao's disappointment. "You're supposed to be _Tikal's_ pet, not _mine!"_ But the chao refused to be discouraged, as it just continually crawled over to rub up against whatever part of the red echidna was available to him. "Cut it out! I'm not your dad or whatever, just wait for like three minutes and I'll bring you to who you _do_ belong to!"

"Chao."

Knuckles groaned in exasperation and scooped up the tiny creature into his arms, watching in barely contained frustration as the chao smiled and curled up comfortably into his chest. "Hey, don't get too comfy there, that's not yours! Besides, you'll have a way more comfortable chest to rest on in just a few minutes." the chao didn't even seem to acknowledge him. "Terrific. I better get back to the shrine before this thing decides I'm gonna be its permanent hammock!"

Knuckles had never run so fast in his life.

Minutes later, he arrived at the shrine and looked around in confusion, as he saw that Tikal had seemingly vanished. "Oh terrific, she's not here." he grumbled and placed the chao on the rocky ground next to the Master Emerald, as he sat down and leaned up against the large gem with his arms held behind his back. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to try and relax, but he was prompted to grunt and open his eyes a slit when the chao suddenly crawled over and rested its tiny head on his leg. "Hey, Tikal will probably be here in a few minutes, just sit tight ok?"

"Chao chao." the chao drew closer and looked up at him with pleading, wide eyes.

The guardian sighed. "Look, I'm not your dad, so I'm not your bed either, so just stay over there so I can get a little rest, I've had a very long and stressful day." he closed his eyes and tried to relax, but he couldn't help but open his eye a slit to check and see if the chao had obeyed his order...naturally it hadn't, instead it was just sitting there next to him, rocking back and forth on its cute little tail as it stared up into the blue sky. "Over _there,_ as in at least ten feet away from me."

"Chao chao chao."

By this point, Knuckles had had it. Inhaling a sharp breath of oxygen through his nose, he glared at the creature with eyes wide with anger. "Ok listen up! I-"

"Knuckles?"

The guardian bit his tongue and whipped his head around to glance at the stunned orange echidna, whose eyes were wide as they locked onto the adorable white creature who was now also looking at Tikal. "There, now we can set things straight." Knuckles picked up the chao and held it in the palm of his oversized mitt, walking over and holding it out to his only echidna companion. "Chao, this is Tikal."

"Chao?"

"Oh my goodness..." Tikal raised her hand to her mouth as her eyes began to water, this was the last thing she'd ever expected to see on Angel Island...and yet here it was, plain as day. A sweet baby chao, as innocent as could be. "Hello there." Hands trembling, she reached out and took the chao out of the guardian's hand, and wrapped it into her arms and looked down at it with a watery smile. "Oh aren't you just the sweetest thing?"

"Chao!" the chao beamed up at the young female echidna, as the ball over its head morphed into a heart, signaling its happiness. "Chao chao chao."

Seeing the two interact, Knuckles couldn't help but smile a little. "So I guess you like it?"

"Like it?" Tikal glanced at Knuckles with tears dripping from her eyes. "This is the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me, how did you know exactly what it was I was thinking about?"

"Oh well, ya know." Knuckles grinned as he placed his arms behind his back. "A man's gotta be able to tell these things. I figured the reason you were sad was because you were missing the chao from the shrine, so I figured I'd go and bring ya one of your own to make you feel better."

"I do, I really do!" she nuzzled the chao's face with her nose, and then she rushed over and placed a soft, lingering kiss on the guardian's cheek. "Thank you Knuckles, thank you so much! Words can't begin to describe how happy you've made me."

If it were possible for Knuckles to turn any redder, he would have. "Yeah well, you're welcome." he mumbled as he rubbed the place where the echidna girl had moments ago placed her...incredibly soft lips. "It doesn't have a name yet, so that's all you."

"Oh?" she held the chao out and looked at it thoughtfully, slightly confusing the creature in the process. Then she smiled and held it close to her again. "I know what I'll call her, her name will be Sacniete, which in my tribe means 'white flower.' A perfect fit for this adorable and special creature."

"Chao!" Sacniete spread out her limbs with joy as Tikal held her up into the air.

"Hmm," Knuckles smirked and crossed his arms as he made his way back over to the Master Emerald. "Well I'm glad you're happy Tikal, I hope you and Sacniete become great friends." he sat down and again leaned against the Master Emerald, yawning as fatigue began to overtake him.

"Chao! Chao chao chao!"

"What is it Sacniete?" the white chao suddenly began to struggle in her arms, and Tikal immediately put the creature down and watched in awe as it hurried to crawl over and take a place back next to Knuckles. "Well now, this is very interesting!"

Knuckles had just started to relax when he suddenly felt pressure on his leg again, and he frowned and opened his eye a slit to again see the chao leaning against him. "Hey kid, maybe you didn't realize it, but Tikal's over there." he bobbed his head slightly to indicate the direction of Sacniete's intended master, growling lowly when the chao only seemed to snuggle closer. "What part of what I'm saying isn't clear to you?"

Watching the scene unfold, it took everything Tikal had to not burst into boisterous laughter. Even now, she was having to suppress giggles as she covered her mouth with her hand. "It seems that Sacniete has already built a much stronger bond with you Knuckles."

"What?" Knuckles glanced down at the chao who was now sleeping soundly against his leg before whipping his head back up to look at Tikal in horror. "Tikal, I can't take care of a chao, I just can't!"

"Oh Knuckles," the orange echidna quietly walked over to the guardian and scooped the white chao into her arms, wincing a little as she woke up and started whining to be placed back next to Knuckles, reaching out to him with her arms. "I understand that you're nervous, it's perfectly normal for you to feel that way."

"I'm not nervous!" he crossed his arms and huffed. "I just have a full-time job already just guarding the Master Emerald."

"You fear change," she ignored his statement. "You've spent your whole life alone, just you and the Master Emerald. Occasionally you would run into Sonic and your other friends when the world is in peril, but otherwise you've lived in relative isolation. Naturally, a newcomer in your life would throw things off." she smirked. "I suspect that you're still just getting used to having _me_ around, aren't you?"

Knuckles spluttered for a few moments before finding the words to answer. "I-I don't need to get used to having you around! You're an echidna, like me! You understand why my duty is so important and why I have to do it, you know better than anyone!"

"Yes, I do." she nodded and sat herself down next to Knuckles, who stiffened up when she scooted close and allowed for Sacniete to curl up in his lap and finally cease her pleading whines. "Knuckles, my return to the mortal realm was no accident, the Master Emerald brought me here because of your wish to no longer be alone."

"But...but-but I didn't wish that!"

"Not out loud you didn't, but the Master Emerald could sense what was in your heart, and remember what you've learned about the capabilities of the heart."

Thinking a moment, the red echidna's eyes widened as he looked at the girl in shock. "Power is enriched by the-"

"Exactly."

"So...so you _know_ how I feel..."

Tikal blushed slightly and nodded with her eyes closed before looking back up at him. "From the very beginning...and my heart is telling me that I feel the same way." she scooted closer and took Knuckles' arm, draping it around her shoulders as she cuddled up to him. "You won't need to raise Sacniete alone Knuckles, I'll be right here with you every step of the way. That's what love is all about."

Knuckles blushed and slowly lowered his head to rest his eyes on the slumbering white chao in his lap, and then he turned to glance at the orange echidna who had just closed her own eyes and sighed contentedly as she nuzzled up to him like a purring kitten. His brain was trying to put the pieces of what had just happened together, out of nowhere he had apparently gained a girlfriend and a new pet all in the span of half an hour...that much change all at once was enough to make the guardian want to start freaking out then and there.

But as the warmth of having Tikal's petite frame pressed against his side started to truly register to him, his racing mind began to slow, as did his own heartbeat. Never before had he been on the receiving end of such tenderness, and Knuckles was surprised to find that he really enjoyed having Tikal close to him. Almost unconsciously, he tightened his hold on the echidna girl, eliciting another content sigh from her as a result.

Then he sensed movement on his leg, and he looked to see Sacniete smiling at him with a heart above her head before she settled back down for a nap. Smiling to himself, Knuckles used his free hand to gently rub the chao's head, his heart swelling slightly when she heard her also sigh in apparent happiness.

Sudden change can be a very jarring experience to anyone who's spent a majority of their lives living in a fairly normal routine. For Knuckles the Echidna, that routine was a simple one: guard the Master Emerald, as was his sworn duty. But after the day's events, he decided that sometimes change was a good thing. Now he had someone else to care for in Tikal, someone who was capable of returning the favor by giving him her love and affection, something he'd truly never received.

And he had the special white chao Sacniete to thank for this coming about. If it hadn't been for her, Tikal would not only still be depressed, but their relationship would have never sparked. The act of gifting her with a chao was what built a flame of passion in her heart for him...and in return for that one act, Knuckles mentally swore that he would guard the tiny creature with his very life, with as much dedication as he put into protecting the Master Emerald itself. Oh it wouldn't be easy, he knew that...but as he felt the two figures cuddle closer to him, it was easy to decide the pros far outweighed the cons.

 _"Maybe having a chao won't be so bad after all."  
__

 **A/N: And there you have it! The "white flower" Sacniete found a way to break some unknown barriers and get the two echidnas together. For those who are curious, Sacniete is the Mayan word for "white flower," and since the word Tikal has a Mayan background, it seemed logical to assume that they would be the perfect source for a name for this particular chao.**

 **So anyway, unless I come up with something else to write about, this might be the last chapter of this particular story...but then again, who knows? There are other pairings I support, maybe there are more ways that chao can play matchmakers. We'll see how it goes. Until next time dear readers, leave a review if you liked it!**


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